Multi tenant metering

cantbhit25

New User
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Electrician
Being that my meter banks tap box are fed with 3 phase 120/208 and I will have to balance each set of meters A/B, B/C and A/C. Do my single phase feeds from meter to tenant panel need to be identied as the phasing at the meter taps and then would my branch circuits in the unit need to match the 2 phases feeding the panel? As always thanks for your time. Have a good day!
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
Assuming that the 208Y/120 volt system is the only voltage system at the building, there is no code requirement to identify the conductors by phase, however it is a common practice to do so for the feeders. Not common to do so for the branch circuit conductors.
 
Location
New England
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
I usually see this done with off the shelf SER or MC from the meter room in an apartment building to each unit. So each units panel is fed with black, red, white, ground. Regardless of actual phasing to each unit. I’ve never seen a cable that’s say black, blue, white, ground or red, blue, white, ground. Though I’m sure for enough money someone will make it for you.
 

Carultch

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
I usually see this done with off the shelf SER or MC from the meter room in an apartment building to each unit. So each units panel is fed with black, red, white, ground. Regardless of actual phasing to each unit. I’ve never seen a cable that’s say black, blue, white, ground or red, blue, white, ground. Though I’m sure for enough money someone will make it for you.
Since custom color configurations of cables are usually cost-prohibitive, it's common to tape at terminations where necessary. The NEC also allows you to do this in all sizes, when the wire starts in a multiwire assembled cable.
 
Location
New England
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Since custom color configurations of cables are usually cost-prohibitive, it's common to tape at terminations where necessary. The NEC also allows you to do this in all sizes, when the wire starts in a multiwire assembled cable.
I get that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done for phasing apartment feeders before. For that matter I barely see the conductors out of a preassembled cable rephased at all, unless it’s the white being used as an ungrounded conductor.
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Our single phase feeders for apartment buildings are Black-Red-White so no phase marking for the C phase is used.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I haven't seen a new three phase meter bank with single phase meters in a while but guessing they haven't changed this either. They never came with phasing identified in each individual socket assembly before and guessing they still don't. However there likely is a bus diagram on it somewhere in case you need to know this information.
 
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